195 millions stem cells...and some tears!

I was in the waiting room (Playfully called the Red Room and I'm guessing that has to do with the big red recliners in there!) after the liposuction part of the process, sitting back and peacefully soaking it all in while my husband dozed off next to me. There was alot to soak in after anticipating this day for months! Well, I wasn't literally sitting back because the doctor chose my backside for the liposuction. Ouch! The doctor peeked in with wider eyes than I had seen him express in the past and said he had an important picture I should capture. Without putting any thought into it, I followed him and his sweet nurse Sarah, back to the room. He showed me a piece of equipment, not much bigger than an iPad, and told me to take a picture of it. Then he had me zoom in on the numbers and take that picture as well.

I should mention my doctor is incredible at what he does and he is one of the kindest and most compassionate doctors I've worked with. He is also very gentle and soft spoken and I would not expect him to show a huge outward sign of excitement other than a kind smile, but definitely no cartwheels! After taking some photos, the conversation went something like this...

Doctor: "Linda, you produced 195 million stem cells!"  (That is in 50cc of fat)
Me: "Great!" (having no idea what that actually meant)
Doctor:  "That's a very good result!"
Me: "That's wonderful." (still not comprehending the significance)
Nurse: "That is amazing. Really fantastic!"
Me: "What do you mean? That's good? How so? What numbers do you normally see? I'm not sure I understand." I think that came out in one big blundered sentence because my thoughts were moving faster than my mouth could catch up to. I knew something amazing was happening...
Nurse: Putting her hands on my shoulders and looking directly in my eyes, "Linda, this is incredible. Really incredible. I am so happy for you." All through her tears. Lots of tears. It welled up inside me as well and the tears flowed. It was a pretty powerful moment that I will never forget.

They began to explain the numbers in more detail and I learned 195 million is the highest count they have ever seen, by millions. Sometimes they only see 20 million as a matter of fact. The significance is all those cells have a job to do in my body in upcoming weeks/months so I see it like this:  If you have a big job/project to complete, do you want the help of a small crew or a large crew? BINGO, a large crew! Well, I had those pure little cells all put back into my body via an IV to do a job  -  modulate my immune system. I am happy to announce I now have a very large crew of stem cells floating around and hopefully finding their targets over the next few months.

I found myself wondering, was it the daily wheatgrass shot? Did that make a difference? Afterall, I am anemic and have trouble producing enough red blood cells which could be a problem. Or, perhaps cutting out gluten really did help. That may make my diet worth it because I sure do miss my gluten! Then, could it be my age? That's a nice thought. Maybe being over 40 isn't so old afterall. My mind has been in a pretty good place so I wondered,  Hmmm...maybe the mind does have something to do with all this. Then I remembered the high dose vitamin C IV I received the day before. That could surely be it!  The doctor gave me the facts on my numbers but he couldn't put a finger on why mine were so high. "A combination of things" was his take.

I went back to the "Red Room" and my husband was still sleeping. I was processing what just happened while fixing my make up in the mirror (note to self, wear waterproof mascara on days like this), when the nurse walked back in and just hugged me, again through tears. She couldn't believe the numbers and being the weepy gals we were, my husband woke up and got the news. My very non weepy hubby was weepy by then as well. The nurse left and we prayed, thanking God. YES! We thanked God. We didn't thank the vitamin C or the wheatgrass, my age or my mind, we thanked GOD.

I laughed at myself for a moment, realizing I was looking at the wrong things to credit! Sure, that's all good stuff and I love what the wheatrgrass etc does for my body, but I have reached a point in my medical care where not a single decision is made by me without thoughtful prayer. Let me tell you, when dealing with chronic health issues and so many decisions on a daily basis, that thoughtful prayer has been such a blessing. It hasn't just been my prayers, especially lately. I am so appreciative of all my prayer warriors out there - those prayers are being heard!

God has been and is guiding my steps. Sooooo, if that wheatgrass had anything to do with it, well, God gets credit for it.  If the Vitamin C had anything to do with it, God worked that out too. As a matter of fact, I was suppose to receive an ozone treatment (oxygen) the day before but the doctor decided to do vitamin C instead.  He had very specific reasons for that change and I quickly prayed about it and agreed with the plan wholeheartedly. God gets credit for that too!

So, what do I credit for that stem cell army my body produced? I simply credit God because that was part of His plan.  I am hopeful for healing, but I am even more confident that God's plans will come to fruition no matter what. So, now we wait and see, continue to pray and seek God's guidance as we monitor results over the next few months...and, yes, I will continue the other parts of my care such as daily wheatgrass shots, as long as I feel God is guiding those steps as well.

Who is guiding your steps? It doesn't have to take something as serious as my situation to reach out and ask God for help. He is always there...waiting for you to call His name. The next time you find yourself saying "Thank God!" about anything, notice WHO you thanked. I've never heard anyone say "Thank Wheatgrass!". 

xoxo,
Linda